they're both the first black presidents of their countries. but president obama would bristle at comparisons. >> reporter: it was interesting. on that africa trip, president obama compared mandela to somebody else, to george washington, as the founder of south africa. and also in the sense that mandela stepped down from power voluntarily, just as george washington stepped down after two terms. mandela stepped down after only one. >> an important example to set. jon karl, thanks very much. >>> let's go to josh and the other top stories. >> we're going to begin with the other big story here in the u.s. major ice storm. and one of the worst in years. people from texas to kentucky are being hit the hardest as several states have, in fact, declared states of emergencies. millions could be left without power. elsewhere, so cold, in fact, in the rockies and in the upper plains, some locations are seeing temperatures of 25 below zero. ginger's forecast coming in just a moment. >>> and some big news about the economy today. the labor department reports